


I Love You

by theForsakenJedi69



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 01:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14485500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theForsakenJedi69/pseuds/theForsakenJedi69
Summary: He tried to calm the phoenix, tell himself it was okay there was nothing to be worried about but he knew it wouldn’t work. The phoenix chooses only one mate in their whole lifeand he was currently off on a mission.





	I Love You

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy!   
> I just love the idea of Marco's phoenix having its own bird instincts that mess with Marco's reasonable personality

If Marco was in phoenix form it would have been obvious his feathers were ruffled. He was anxious and on edge, irritable all day. Well more than usual anyways. He paced around his office attempting to read the document in his hand for the hundredth time unsuccessfully. He practically growled as he threw the document down atop his desk. He placed his hands on his temples hoping to prevent aggravating his current headache further. He strode over to his chair and slumped in it, shutting his eyes trying to relax. He felt his phoenix stir, unable to calm itself. Marco felt his gut stir with anxiety and grunted loudly in frustration. 

 

He wanted to beat up the phoenix that made him unable to control his own emotions. Being so out of control was so unlike him and he hated it, it made him feel small, weak, vulnerable. He is reasonable, smart, tactical, but his phoenix was about instinct, emotions, drawn by his heart not his head. They conflicted with each other everyday. But Marco didn’t hate the phoenix that cooed in him, instead he envied the beautiful bird who would let its emotions rule its reasoning. The ability to live so carefree and lively, happy. Marco envied that freedom. 

 

But he had responsibilities, he was a commander, he had paperwork to do, the old man to take care of. He didn’t have time for this, to be dragged around by the phoenix’s whims. He had self control and he would prove it. It wasn’t something to get worked up over anyways. Marco kept trying to reason with himself, to prove the anxiety he felt was unreasonable, that it was unnecessary. He tried to calm the phoenix, tell himself it was okay there was nothing to be worried about but he knew it wouldn’t work. The phoenix chooses only one mate in their whole life and he was currently off on a mission. 

 

* * *

 

**_Earlier that day_ **

 

Even though White Beard spoke softly his voice was still very clear and boomed in the small quarter where he laid.

 

“It is a simple mission, only one commander.” Whitebeard spoke to the 2 commanders in front of him. “Normally I would send Marco but Ace needs to stretch his legs. He has been too antsy and 2nd division has been complaining.” He smirked at Ace but didn’t miss the flinch in Marco’s shoulders.

 

“Pops I think I would be much better for this kind of mission. I’ll make it quick.” Marco protested, though he wasn’t really sure why. He trusted Pop’s decisions. 

 

White Beard turned his eyes to the phoenix. He smirked, clearly amused. “No, I think I will leave this to Ace this time. Dismissed.”

 

Marco didn’t know why he felt uneasy but he couldn’t argue with pops, so he turned on his heels and abruptly left the room. He tried to maintain a straight face as he walked to the main deck of the Moby. His phoenix stirred, irritable and anxious but Marco had no idea why. He walked to the rail, clutching it tight as he closed his eyes and drew in a tense breath trying to quietly calm the bird within him. He felt a familiar presence approach him and lean against the rail next to him. He felt the eyes on him without even looking up.  _ Ace. _

 

“You okay birdy?” Even with the annoying name thrown in Marco could hear the concern lacing the younger commanders voice. He opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the man next to him and everything suddenly made sense. The phoenix instantly relaxed at the sight of the other man. Well built, tan, those beautiful freckles painting those adorable cheeks, eyes piercing under that dark hair and that obnoxiously orange hat. The view was like a cold drink of water and all the anxiety washed away at their proximity. Marco felt himself smile just barely as his eyes took in the sight before him. He came back to his senses when Ace’s cheeks started tinting a beautiful pink shade, becoming self conscious about being stared at.

 

“Ah, I’m fine. No worries brat.” There was nothing harsh in the way he spoke, just fond familiarity. Ace met his gaze and for a moment Marco was frozen by the fire in those eyes. It was so fierce and the moment felt like it would never end, like time was suspended, the earth had stopped turning just for them and this moment. It was overwhelming and Marco tore his gaze away and stared at his hands, willing his heart to stop pounding in his ears. He missed Ace smirk before standing straight.

 

“Gotta get ready for the mission. Later bird brain!” Ace called as he walked away from the blonde commander. Marco chose not to reply in fear of what his voice would sound like. He felt the phoenix coo, calling out to the dark haired man. His phoenix practically swooned at Ace and his heart was pounding in his ears, his chest felt tight but his mind was berading him. _ God how could his body betray him like this?! Falling for some brat, this was pathetic. Just forget it!   _ Determined to forget all about that heated moment, he headed to the cafeteria for a real glass of water, but he should have known better. What is the first thing that Ace gets for his missions? Like a month supply of food.  _ Ugh I have the worst luck _ . 

 

He walked into the cafeteria and ignored the shirtless brat who was shoveling food into both his mouth and his bag. How he could eat that much was still astounding. He was heading to get some water when he caught a glimpse of Ace licking his lips and something stirred in his gut and sent goosebumps down his spine. Marco decided he might need something a little harsher than water to wash out the images that just ran through his mind. He grabbed the nearest bottle of ale and hurried to leave the room before Ace decided to involuntarily enter his thoughts again. 

 

_ Fuck fuck fuck!!  _ He felt like he was gonna lose his mind because of Ace. To say the least, he had been unsuccessful in getting Ace of his mind, actually it felt like with every swig of that burning  liquid he was thinking worse thoughts. It hadn’t helped that Thatch had decided that it would be a great time to pull a prank on the young commander and a bucket of water was spilled all over the dark haired boy. Now he couldn’t get the image of a wet, shirtless Ace out of his head. The water running down those amazing abs, or dripping off those powerful arms, or the steam leaving his body from heating the water.  _ Fuuuck _ . He felt the stirring in his gut once more and brought a hand up to his eyes to rub the thoughts away to no avail.  

 

Even lost in his thoughts he didn’t miss the announcement of Ace’s departure. If he didn’t harbor self control, the phoenix would have took off immediately. But he  _ did _ have self control, usually. So he might have sped walked to the departure point just in time to see Ace on his small vessel waving back at the Moby. Marco had no Idea what his face looked like but he let his emotions show just for that one moment as he watched the retreating back of the man he was in love with, feeling like Ace was riding off with a part of his heart as well. He snapped back to reality when Izou appeared over his shoulder with an obnoxious snicker on his face. 

 

“Ooh the great Marco, will you be lonely without your fiery prince by your side?” Izou was clearly amused by catching Marco off guard. Marco glared daggers into him.

 

“Shut up, yoi!” He felt his cheeks heat up.  _ UGH.  _ “I’m not some teenager!” he swiftly turned and stormed away from Izou, emotions ranging from mad, embarrassed and lonely. He was getting really annoyed by the pining of his phoenix. He headed back to his office and slammed the door behind him. No one was gonna stop him from getting his work done! Not Ace, Izou or his own phoenix!

 

Or so he thought.

* * *

 

**Back to present**

 

_ Wait… DID I JUST REFER TO HIM AS MY MATE?!  Oh god I’ve got it bad… _ He had begun to feel helpless thinking about how far he had fallen for that brat.  _ Oh man what would Pops think?...Wait Pops! I can talk to him! _ Marco jumped up so fast from his desk he felt his phoenix’s fire lick the air as he ran to Whitebeard’s quarters. He stopped abruptly and stared at the massive door before him.  _ What if Pops throws me out of the crew? What if he thinks I’m disgusting? What if he demotes me for being irresponsible? _ Suddenly everything was telling him that maybe Whitebeard wasn’t the person to consult about this. But it was too late. Whitebeard's huge voice boomed, barely muffled by the great door. 

 

“Son, hurry up and come in. Don’t stand there all day.” Amusement was evident in his voice. Marco swallowed hard and opened the mighty doors and stepped into the large room. Seeing Whitebeard did bring him some relief as he stood at the end of the bed. He looked up and took in Whitebeard’s face, one full of fondness and caring, waiting patiently for Marco to speak. Something overflowed in Marco’s chest and he spilled everything. His feelings for Ace, his guilt, his phoenix,  _ everything. _ Whitebeard just smirked and chuckled lightly, or as lightly as someone his size could. 

 

“You didn’t even consider for a moment that Ace could possibly feel the same way about you?” 

 

Marco felt the suffocating feeling in his chest, the one that had been there since he knew he loved Ace, the guilt, the self hatred, it all lifted at Whitebeard’s question. He had never even let the possibility cross his mind. The tension could be seen literally fleeing him as his shoulders relaxed.  _ What if Ace did like me?  _  He thought of the moment earlier that day.  _  What if I wasn’t the only one who felt that?  _ His heart soared at the possibility. He then blushed as he realized how easily Pops had made him feel better. Now he felt stupid by how simple the solution was and how long he had been bothered by it. He scratched the back of his neck as he thanked Whitebeard and fled the room. Whitebeard just smiled as he watched his son run from the room

 

Marco felt on top of the world, he felt like he was flying.  _ Actually that’s a great idea.  _ He fully shifted and flew up high above the Moby and soared through the clouds. He felt the setting suns warmth on his face and he smiled. No one was up here with him, he could be himself, not the strict commander they knew him as. He could be as love sick as his phoenix wanted. He thought of Ace, his smile, his laugh, his strange eating habits. His fire, his rippling body, his fierce gaze. He felt shivers run through him as he lost himself in his thoughts. He hadn’t felt this good since... _ When Ace decided to join the crew.  _ He stopped abruptly in air and his eyes blew open wide.  _ Wait...I’ve been in love with him the whole time?!! _ He was glad to be in the clouds because no one could see his face turn beet red, even in his phoenix form.  He shook it off and decided he might need more ale after all.

 

He flew back down to the Moby and found a bottle being passed around some crew members and took a long swig enjoying the burn down his throat. He felt like getting drunk tonight. Ace wouldn’t be back until tomorrow probably anyways so what was the harm? The thought of not seeing Ace until tomorrow made his phoenix coo sadly. He ignored it in favor of getting his own bottle of Ale. The dinner bell rang and suddenly his vision was full of hungry crew members running for their share. He trotted into the dining hall and was greeted by Thatch and Izou. Izou smirked at him.

 

“Well you seem to be in a good mood.” Izou was looking at him amused, as usual.

 

“You’re imaginin’ things. Pass the Ale, yoi.” Marco asked nicely, which made all the nearby crew members look to each other with bewilderment clear on their faces. Izou just blinked up at him from his seat. Finally he grabbed the bottle of ale and handed it to the blonde commander. Marco happily emptied the bottle during their meal and no one else brought up his good mood in fear of ruining it. After the meal the crew became rowdy as usual, drinking, singing, messing around. Marco decided to join in the rowdy behavior, he felt like laughing, singing, and drinking too. He wanted to drink until he passed out, maybe he would see Ace sooner then. The night continued with pranks from Thatch, a couple lost bets, Izou trying to put makeup on a couple commanders, and overall fun. Marco was thoroughly enjoying himself, he was beginning to feel pretty drunk too. But then he felt his phoenix coo sadly, and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness washed over him. Even though he was surrounded by his family, he felt so alone. He wanted Ace. He  _ needed _ Ace. 

 

He stood from the group of drunk crew mates messing around on deck and he headed for the back of the Moby. Once alone he slid down the railing looking out onto the dark waters of the grand line. He really must have been drunker than he thought because he was missing that dark haired brat so much he felt his eyes begin to prick with tears. He had been feeling so good earlier what happened? Why was love like a roller coaster? He never should have fallen for the boy if it was gonna be like this. But he never really stood a chance from the beginning did he? He thought of the stubborn boy he had just met, who refused to be on their crew, who tried killing Whitebeard over and over. He remembered the day he got Whitebeard’s mark on his back and stood proud. He remembers his smile and stupid laugh. His cute freckles and dark hair.

 

“ _ Fuck.. _ I really miss you..” Marco whispered to the dark waves of the grandline. He felt a tear roll down his cheek and he just left it there. No one was watching anyways. 

 

“I’ve only been gone one day but you miss me already?” Marco knew that smug voice, he knew but he didn’t believe that he heard it. He Looked up and saw the moonlit silhouette of the man he had been dreaming of all day. 

“...I really am drunk. Now I’m seein’ things.” He rubbed his eyes and tried to get up, using the railing to help him to his feet.  _ Oh yeah definitely drunk. _ He stood fully and glared at the bottle of ale in his hands, cursing it. He looked up to see if his hallucination had disappeared yet. Instead of seeing an empty space in front of him like he had expected, his vision was full of nothing but Ace. He was standing strangely close, and he felt his face heat up.

 

“O-oi brat back up would ya!” he tried to sound assertive but with the alcohol making it hard to focus along with his heart pounding in his ears, it was hard.

 

“It was me that you were missing, right Marco?” Ace spoke softly.  _ Fuck he is really close. Wait he just called my name, fuck.  _

 

“Who else would I miss..”  _ God Ace is clueless...WAIT.. _ Marco slapped a hand over his mouth.  _ Oh my god I really am drunk, I didn’t want to say that out loud! _ He felt his heart race and his face heat up even more as he stared at the dark haired boy in front of him. Ace just smiled and stepped closer to him.  _  Fuck fuck fuck what do I do what if he hates me what is happening what do I do- _

 

All possible thoughts stopped when Ace suddenly grabbed his hip and pulled him flush against that amazingly bear chest and cupped his face. Marco had no idea what Ace was thinking but he really didn’t care anymore. Marco grabbed the back of Ace’s neck and pulled. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, Marco was hoping to convey all of his desperation, his love, his need, his everything. That was a little hard to do though as he began to melt against those amazingly sweet lips. He barely noticed what Ace pulled his his hips closer. Suddenly the kiss became deeper and hands were roaming and pulling, attempting to be as close as possible. Ace lead them to the nearest wall and nearly slammed Marco up against it, their legs intertwining, chest pressed against each other. Ace’s tongue flicked out asking for entrance as Ace’s leg came up and ground up against Marco’s groin. Marco gasped and Ace explored his mouth.  _ Fuuck _ . Marco had lost all thought as his mind went blank. He had been imagining this for so long it was unbearable. 

 

They finally separated for air and Marco took in the sight before him. A flushed Ace panting for air, lips swollen slightly from their kiss. He was filled with a warm feeling, his chest tightened painfully as he really accepted how much he loved this incredibly beautiful boy in front of him. He was so overcome by a barrage of emotions that he could no longer hold himself back from speaking, and opened his mouth.

 

“I love you.”

 

Marco’s mouth hung open and his eyes blew open wide, his heart stuttering. He felt like everything stopped, and he couldn’t breathe. Ace had spoken before Marco could get the words out, and now his whole world was frozen as he looked at the freckled face in front of him. Ace looked at his with such a fond expression, like he was precious, and Marco knew he lost. He grabbed Ace and flipped them, pinning Ace to the wall now. His heart was beating a mile a minute.

 

“At least let me say it first, brat.” He smirked and leaned it, barely touching their lips together. “I love you Ace.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!   
> Go ahead and check out my other One Piece works!  
> Feel free to leave a kudos and a comment!


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